Foreclosure Sale - How do they work?

[2manyrocks]

It appears to be a judicial foreclosure sale. Some of the state laws regarding foreclosures sales are really quirky, and I strongly recommend that you speak with an independent lawyer who knows the Maryland foreclosure process well before you do anything. You can find one by calling a local lender and asking who they use for their foreclosure sales. You'd be well advised to buy title insurance even if you have for it out of your own pocket in case there are title issues that have been missed in the foreclosure search.

 

[dmccarty]

Go talk to a lawyer familiar with your state's foreclosure laws.

We thought about going after a property that was going to be foreclosed and talked with a couple of lawyers which was very interesting. In the end the owner kept it out of foreclosure but only by a matter of days.

Also check for liens at the courthouse. Is the bank they only one with a lien on the place? Are there others? What does that mean to you if you buy.

Later,
Dan

 

[sunspot]

The property I live on was split into 2 parcels and I was at the backside. The folks at the front defaulted on the loan and I did some courthouse research. I went to the local bank that held the loan and they were eager to help me.

I prearranged a loan deal from the same bank and on the day of the sale, my wife and I were on the courthouse steps. The bank bid the balance of the defaulted loan and I bid $1 more.

The original price on the house was 78k and after the pigs living in it for a number of years, it appraised for 37k and I got it for 33k.

Over the last few years, my wife and I have gutted the whole house, slowly to be rebuilt after I retire later this year.

 

[QueBota]

Thanks for all the input guys, I got called to work this AM and couldn't make the auction. My neighbor who was interested in participating with me (he is a county sheriff in another county) had to work overtime and couldn't make the auction either.

I am trying to find out the results of the auction. From what I understand, most foreclosure properties don't sale at auction because the price is usually set too high. The bank tries to collect the balance of the mortgage owed, which in this case I believe is at least 100K more than the current market value.

I will post if I learn anything more. I would imagine it was turned over to a local broker or agent to try to sale.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[2manyrocks]

Depends on your laws in Maryland which I haven't a clue about. They really do vary from state to state. I understand one state has an "upset" bid procedure where even if the lender has made a bid at the courthouse steps, the court can set that bid aside and take the next higher bid if that bid is made before the court confirms the sale. Maybe this lender went ahead and bid the full amount of the debt or maybe it didn't. Without knowing your local laws and what happened, you just don't know. If you are seriously interested, you're going to have to jump on this and find out what your local law is and find out if the "sale" is final or subject to another upset bid.

I am in a nonjudicial foreclosure state where the court doesn't have to confirm a sale. Here, the sale is final when the highest bid is taken. The highest bidder gets a deed following the sale and then is free to resell it.

In a judicial foreclosure state, the court has to approve the sale and the execution of the deed. It ain't necessarily done until the court says its done. Hence. you need to check to see if the sale is done or if there is an upset bid procedure before the court confirms the sale. Or if you don't have time to fool with this one, then go to another sale and ask how they do things (but don't bid unless you know exactly what you're doing.)

 

[CurlyDave]

...go to another sale and ask how they do things (but don't bid unless you know exactly what you're doing.)...

Excellent advice.

About two years ago someone in the neighborhood died and they held an estate sale. He had two JD tractors, and a good buddy wanted one, but couldn't be there, so I agreed to go and bid for him.

The auction had a schedule, and tractors were to be sold in the afternoon. I don't have a lot of experience with auctions, so I went in the morning and watched for a couple of hours to see how things were done.

Then, I bought a couple of small things that I sort of wanted, but had no compelling urgency on, just to be sure I had the procedure right. When the better tractor came up, I got a book value $16k tractor for $12k.

 

[QueBota]

The auction was canceled yesterday AM. Can't seem to find out any more info from the attorneys that were handling the foreclosure as trustees or the auction company.

The gal at the auction company was the most friendly and willing to talk. She said the she sees a lot of cancellations the morning of the auction.

Either the owner declared bankruptcy and is protected by the court, something was determined to be wrong with the paperwork and the auction had to be postponed or the owner brought the account up to date with the lender(s). There is also the option of a private sale and settlement of the amount owed the mortgage company prior to the commencement of the auction.

My neighbor, the county sheriff from the adjoining county, is going to use his "influence" to try to find out what happened.

The gal at the auction company told me to keep an eye on the paper and watch for the next series of notices. Evidently in MD, the trustee must post notice of foreclosure in the "local" paper three consecutive weeks before the auction/foreclosure can take place to make it "legal".

Thanks,
Dave

 

[rox]

We just had to foreclose on a guy who stopped paying us. To find a good foreclosure attorney I used the internet and looked at sheriff's sales and looked at the noticed and wrote down the names of the attorneys who worked for banks doing foreclosures. Pretty soon there was a pattern of the same few attorneys names showing p again and again. I called around until I found one I liked. You really want an attorney who des this day in and day out. The little bit of money you are going to spend on an attorney to advise you and check into this is going to be money well spent.

 

[mjarrels]

I'm a old Bruce Williams fan... Unless you really know what you are doing... stay away! Your belt buckle and pants will drop before you know what is happining!

mark

 

[2manyrocks]

Either the owner declared bankruptcy and is protected by the court, something was determined to be wrong with the paperwork and the auction had to be postponed or the owner brought the account up to date with the lender(s). There is also the option of a private sale and settlement of the amount owed the mortgage company prior to the commencement of the auction.

My neighbor, the county sheriff from the adjoining county, is going to use his "influence" to try to find out what happened.

It's a judicial sale and they'll have to file something with the court to explain why they didn't go through with the sale.